


The Shape of Your Soul

by wellthatjusthappend



Series: When My Soul Meets Yours [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Parenting, Bruce Wayne fucks things up, But more about how they all handle their soulmarks, Canon What Canon, I do what I want with the timeline, Multi, No editing we die like mne, Non Traditional Soulmate AU, Robins and their soulmates, Soulmate AU, Trans Character, body shame, mentions of bullying, most of the time?, multiple marks, same universe as More Than Meets the Eye, sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 14:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthatjusthappend/pseuds/wellthatjusthappend
Summary: Bruce didn’t even know what he was supposed to do about his own soulmate, he had no idea how to guide the Robins about theirs.





	The Shape of Your Soul

**Author's Note:**

> I realized I was so hung up on what I should be writing, that I wasn’t writing anything. So here’s a short little thing I’ve been wanting to write for a while. I think I just have to accept that I probably not going to come back to “More than Meets the Eye”. At least not right now.

When Dick first came into Bruce’s life, his last thought was about soulmates and bonds. The boy was so young and grief stricken that Bruce could only focus on that for while. It was an excellent way to push Clark away in any event. As the grief eased, and the joy of being Robin took over, Bruce found himself more worried about the boy’s training and safety on the street to think about something as mundane as whatever name Dick might get when he was older.

In the back of his mind, he thought they’d at least have longer before he worried about that.

Instead, a few days after Dick’s 14th birthday, Dick came rushing into Bruce’s room to show him the name that had appeared on his hand. It was apparently someone from school. Bruce instantly felt way out of his depth and wave of anxiety washed over him. What if being Dick’s soulmate somehow led them to discover the secret? What if a villain somehow caught sight of it in a fight and tried to use it against Dick?

What if they didn’t have his name in return and Dick was heart broken? Bruce had held the pieces of Dick’s heart once before and he didn’t know if he could bear it if he had to do it again.

Dick was bubbly and excited about the prospect of having a soulmate. He didn’t seem to understand the heavy burden a soulmate was in the end.

“You’ll have to hide it,” Bruce decided firmly.

“Oh, but I thought-“ Dick said, his expression falling.

“If people know, it will only put you and that person in danger,” Bruce explained.

“I guess…” Dick conceded, his shoulders sagging, “but they’ll have to know about me eventually, won’t they? I mean, they’re my soulmate.”

“If they turn out to be trustworthy.”

“ _If?!”_

“Many vigilantes and superheroes struggle with that same problem. You can be perfectly well matched, but your choices can still negatively effect one another,” Bruce said seriously, briefly thinking of Clark briefly and his distaste for the life Bruce had chosen for himself, “it doesn’t always work out.”

“I suppose…”

“You’re too young for soulmates anyway,” Bruce said uncomfortably. He wondered if anyone had given Dick a sex talk yet. They’d surely covered it in school at this point, but the American education system tended to be severely lacking. Maybe he could get Alfred to do it…

“Clearly not,” Dick muttered, flexing his hand and frowning unhappily at the name there.

“Dick…” Bruce said warningly.

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t put them in danger, don’t worry,” Dick said huffing, looking surly. Bruce hated that he’d wiped away the boy’s earlier excitement, but the boy needed to know that he had to be careful.

“I’m not saying never,” Bruce tried to sooth awkwardly, “but it’s easier on you own in our line of work.”

“I know, but…” Dick bit his lip and looked away.

“But?” Bruce prodded, frowning.

“I’m not like you, Bruce,” Dick said in a slightly small voice, guilt etched into his face, “I can’t- I don’t know if I can do this kind of thing alone.”

Bruce struggled to know what to say to that so he said nothing… which was perhaps a worse response.

“But I guess I shouldn’t worry about that since I have you, right?” Dick said with shaky smile.

“Always,” Bruce promised.

Things were easier after that… for a short while. A few months later Dick came home with another name on his skin. Dick was a little thrown off, but Bruce assured him that it wasn’t unheard of for people to be well matched with more than one person. Bruce himself was deeply unsettled but tried not to let it show because he knew Dick would take it personally.

Then came the third name. And then a fourth. The fifth and sixth came on the same day.

When the ninth name appeared on Dick’s skin, Bruce took him to the doctor.

“Calm down Bruce, he’s perfectly fine,” Leslie told him in private, with a hint of exasperation.

“But the names just keep appearing, that’s not normal,” Bruce insisted.

“No, not the norm, but your boy just has one of those personalities: he’s very open and accommodating… almost fluid in the way he adapts to the people around him. Thus, the number of people he could be perfectly matched with is pretty high. I wouldn’t be surprised if names continue to appear,” Leslie told him frankly.

“There must be a way to stop it,” Bruce insisted.

“Stop it?” Leslie’s eyebrows shot up, “Don’t be ridiculous Bruce; You can no more change someone’s soul words than you can change the stars in the sky.”

Bruce said nothing. It wasn’t like he hadn’t already tried everything he could think of to get rid of Clark’s soulmark.

“It’s not a bad thing, Bruce,” Leslie chided him, “just the opposite, it mean your boy is a very loving person, otherwise he would never have so many names.”

“It’s going to make his life very difficult,” Bruce gritted out.

“Perhaps,” Leslie conceded, “but look on the bright-side: Dick will likely be happy with whoever he decides to commit himself to.”

Bruce wasn’t so sure.

When they got back, Bruce began making designs for a new Robin costume that covered more of Dick’s skin.

Dick was not pleased when he found out and they ended up having a shouting match over it. Dick didn’t want to give up the flexibility, and more than that he didn’t want to leave behind the uniform so like the one he used to wear with his family. Bruce didn’t want Dick’s rapidly growing host of names to accidentally become visible to a villain or civilian. Even if it didn’t endanger those people, it could easily lead a person back to Dick’s true identity.

In the end, Bruce made the order for the new uniform and Dick headed off in a huff for a weekend with the Titans. As usual, when he came back he was energized and cheerful and perfectly willing to pretend they hadn’t had a fight.

But, as Leslie had predicted, the names kept coming. Enough so that despite their best efforts, people at school were beginning to notice.

When Dick was almost 16, Bruce was called in multiple times about fights at Dick’s school. No one seemed eager to point fingers around Bruce Wayne, but eventually he found out that Dick was getting harassed because he had multiple names.

Bruce caught the word ‘slut’ being thrown around multiple times, as well as the implication that Dick would go for just about anyone. He was pissed and called up the school board. Which predictably just made Dick mad once his teachers started walking around on eggshells around him.

Dick started to spend a lot more time with the Titans than he did in Gotham.

When he was home, they fought more often. Bruce tried suggesting that things might be easier if Dick started wearing more conservative clothes. That did not go well.

“You’re just like everyone else!” Dick yelled, “you’re embarrassed by me. Well you know what? I’m not embarrassed. They’re _my_ soulmates and I won’t be ashamed.”

In the end, Dick left both Bruce and Robin behind in Gotham. When Nightwing debuted, his costume showed off most of his chest, the names their charmed so onlookers wouldn’t be able to identify them. Still, despite his new look, Clark mentioned Dick still carried a lot of insecurity about his soulmarks.

That wasn’t what Bruce had wanted. Bruce wasn’t sure where he had gone so terribly wrong, but he was certain he had. Soulmates were difficult things and he vowed not to take them for granted again.

* * *

 

With Jay, things were a lot easier in many ways. Bruce was hyper vigilant for any sign of a budding soulmark on the youth, but none ever showed. Jay was naturally prone to keeping covered though, (lots of jackets and extra layers that kept Jay’s body practically formless), so Bruce figured when a name did appear he wouldn’t have to tell Jay to hide it. He would not make Jay think that soulmates were something to be ashamed of; He had learned from Dick.

They fought about other things. Jay was quick to question his methods on the street and slow to back down. Not that it was any worse than it had been with Dick, but Bruce was still raw from his first ward walking out on him. A part of him was certain if he just tried harder and made Jay see things his way from the beginning, they wouldn’t have the same struggles later on.

Then one day Bruce came to pick Jay up from a weekend with the Titans and found his ward weeping fiercely. Jay almost never cried, even when seriously injured. Bruce assumed the worse: that someone had died or gotten hurt.

“What happened?” Bruce knelt down beside Jay, “are you alright? Where are the others?”

“Donna- she-“ Jay choked out.

“Is she hurt? Robin-“

“She’s my soulmate,” Jay said with a note of utter disbelief.

That made Bruce pause and reevaluate the scene with speed.

“The name- the name on her is Jason Todd,” Jay laughed brightly through tears.

“Oh Jay…” Bruce murmured as he finally understood. Jay had once confided in him that he had always thought of himself as boy not the girl he was on paper. Bruce had felt rather out of his depth, but had reassured his ward that that was just fine and dutifully read up on all the literature he could get his hands on. He’d had the paperwork ready for months just in case, but he hadn’t been sure if that was what Jay wanted or how to talk about it.

Apparently the universe had it’s own way of confirming things.

“I was always- always afraid it was all just in my head,” Jay cried- in relief Bruce now realized, “That I was really just- but I was right. I was _right_. I’m really a boy and I have a _soulmate_.”

“Yes,” Bruce agreed, pulling him into his arms. It was awkward, for both of them, but oh so right for the moment.

“I really am-“ Jay shuddered and choked on another sob.

“Yes, Jay lad. You have always had excellent instincts,” Bruce praised awkwardly but sincerely as he rocked them ever so slightly the way Dick had taught him.

Jay burst into a fit of giddy laughter through his tears at that.

“Training never ends, right? A kinda hands on way to learn to go with my gut, hhn?” Jay stifled another laugh into his shoulder.

“It’s a bit more than that, isn’t it?” Bruce chided slightly, even as he smiled in relief; Robin should always be laughing.

“Yea,” Jay agreed happily, tension slowly bleeding out of him as he slumped into the embrace.

The moment was so soft and fragile, Bruce was afraid to breathe lest he some how manage to mess it all up.

Bruce didn’t know how long they sat there before Dick wandered in to find them. He tensed when he saw Dick, who was eyeing him warily from the doorway wearing simple workout clothes that casually showed off the many names on his arms and legs. It occurred to him a little late that Jay now also had a soulmate now and the thought sent a pang of unease through him. He missed Dick. He had hurt his first ward deeply and Bruce wasn’t sure he deserved forgiveness. He didn’t want to mess things up like that again.

“So,” Dick said turning away from Bruce to beam at the boy in his arms, “shall I start calling you ‘Jason’ now, Little Wing?”

“Yup,” Jason raised his hard and tilted his chin up defiantly, “looks like it.”

Dick grinned even brighter.

Bruce might fuck up with Jason in every other way, but he promised himself he would not mess up this bit.

**Author's Note:**

> If I get time/energy, I would love to do Tim, Steph, and Damian for this too (I don't feel confident enough to write Carrie).
> 
> Any thoughts on who Damian’s soul name should be? It’d be fun to have him and Colin be truemates, maybe on their ribs or something. Their temperaments balance each other out rather nicely and Colin is someone Damian has always treated like an equal despite the difference in their training. On the other hand, I kind of like the idea of it being Dick on his foot because Dick is the one most well matched for Damian and holds him up. Especially as a platonic or familial soul bond.


End file.
